The Search for a Phantom
by Murayama-Tsuru
Summary: Set at the beginning of the movie when Raoul is going to the auction. On the way, he meets a strange man with silver hair and he two companions. Then, after finding out that the Phantom is still alive, he decided to ask these three mysterious people to search for that man he never hoped to see again.
1. The Encounter

**Hello again or for the first time, Murayama Tsuru here. Here's a story that might be a little strange. It's my first attempt at a crossover, and I think maybe the serieses that I'm crossing over might necessarily belong together. I mean, there probably aren't many people who are fans of both Phantom of the Opera and Gintama like me, so I don't know what kind of reception this story will get. But since I watched the movie recently, I wanted to write this ^_^. Well anyway, here's the first chapter, I hope you all enjoy.**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or Phantom of the Opera; they belong to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei and Gaston Leroux…or Andrew Lloyd Webber, I think…either way, Phantom's not mine. **_

Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, sat in his car, waiting it for the blessed mechanical thing to come to the jarring halt it always came to. Raoul never really minded how cars stopped, but today it seemed to bother him more than usual. And when that familiar sensation did occur, and the old Vicomte looked out the window to see that they were not yet at the Opera house, he asked, more irritable than usual, "What is the hold up? If we don't get to the auction on time, I will be very cross."

A servant quickly rushed to his side and said in a hurried, apologetic voice, "Pardonne moi, Monsieur Chagny, we have run into some slight trouble. It will just be a moment before everything is cleared up. Just wait for a moment longer…"

Raoul sighed, cutting off the servant, "That's fine. Just let me down for a while, I need the air."

The woman, looking slightly surprised that Raoul wanted to get out the car, nodded and said, "Of course, Monsieur, just one moment please."

Soon the servant who usually pushed around his wheelchair came and he was on the streets, breathing in the not-so-fresh air of Paris. Just wandering aimlessly, as he had instructed the other servant, Raoul's mind began wandering to places they always seemed to be wandering these days. It might have been because today was the anniversary of her death, but the memories seemed especially painful today.

Not really wanting to think about the past at the moment, Raoul took out his wallet and began counting the money he had brought with him for the auction of the things in that place. It's not that he actually had any need to count his money, he already knew exactly how much he'd put in his wallet, but he really just needed to get his mind off everything to do with her at the moment. There would be plenty of time to reminisce at her grave after all, best not to waste time right now.

The next thing Raoul knew, his wheelchair was knocked sideways, somehow, his wallet wrenched from his grasp, the money scattering a little. Raoul then heard someone curse in a language he didn't understand. The same voice then said, in rough French, "Sorry, man, didn't see you there. Let me help you get your things."

The man then waved off the servant's protests and Raoul heard the swish of fabric and saw black boots hopping around on the ground, picking up the things that he'd caused to scatter. Raoul, seeing the strange sight, wanted to laugh aloud for the first time in a long time, and, at the same time, wanted to yell at whoever this newcomer was for managing to knock down his wheelchair.

Soon, everything had been returned to Raoul, and in the same rough voice the man said, "Hey, you, help me haul him up now." Raoul imagined whoever this person was, was addressing his servant because soon, he felt two hands on the back of his wheelchair and the same hands that had picked up his things steadying him in the chair.

Once Raoul was upright, he finally got a good look at the person who had assaulted his dignity. And, Raoul found this person to be the strangest person he'd ever laid eyes on. The man had silver hair, and yet he looked to be in his twenties, not Raoul's age. Also, the man was dressed in a very strange fashion. The man was wearing something akin to a bathrobe. The bathrobe-like thing was mostly white, but at the bottom edge and the end of the sleeves was a blue wave pattern. The man was wearing his bathrobe very messily; draped lazily over one shoulder, while the other sleeve hung at the side of the garment, swaying softly whenever he moved.

Another strange thing about this silver-haired man was that he was carrying at sword at what looked to be the belt of his robe. Raoul had never seen a sword like the one this man was carrying before, though. The sword was a long wooden, thing, with something carved on it that Raoul could not read. And for some reason, the strange wooden blade smelled faintly of that food the English seemed to be fond of, curry Raoul thought it was called.

But the most startling thing about this man was his eyes; they were a deep crimson, making him look almost like a demon. And yet, those demon-like eyes also held a dead, weary quality to them, making Raoul wonder what this man had been through to make his eyes look so tired.

Raoul was pulled out of his observations of the man when said man said, "Hey, I'm really sorry about that. Are you ok? If it's any consolation, I dropped my frog's legs. I never knew amphibian could be so good…too bad I dropped them."

Raoul, thinking this man was more and more interesting with every word he said, replied, "No, it's no problem, nothing of mine was lost after all. But, I guess, I should buy you some more frog's legs, to make up for my causing to drop them."

The strange silver-haired man shook his head, but before he articulate why he didn't want Raoul to buy him more food, a voice called out in that same language the man had first spoke in, "銀さん、どこに行っちゃたか?" (Gin-san, doko ni icchata ka?)

Before Raoul could ask what this person had said, the silver haired man replied in the same strange language, "心配するなぁ、ぱっつぁん、俺はどこにも行かなかった," the man paused and then looked at his surroundings and then said, "先の所戻ったら、俺がじいさんと話してるよ。" (Shinpai surunaa, Pattsuan, ore wa doko nimo ikanakatta. Saki no toko modottara, ore ga jii-san to hanashiteru yo)

Raoul, thoroughly confused now, was about to ask who the silver-haired man was talking to. But before had the chance to, he saw two similarly strange looking people coming toward them. One was a young boy wearing glasses and an outfit to the silver-haired man's. The other person was a short red-haired girl, who was wearing a Chinese looking outfit.

Both newcomers instantly recognized the silver-haired man because the red-haired girl asked, "銀ちゃん、どうしてここにいるアルか？" (Gin-chan, doushite koko ni iru aru ka?)

"人の話聞いてないのか？" the man replied slightly irritated, "このじいさんと話してる。"(hito no hanashi kiitenai noka? Kono jii-san to hanashiteru.)

Next, the boy in glasses asked, "銀さんの話きいたけど、質問があります。なぜこのじいさんと話していますか？何か起こったか？" (Gin-san no hanashi kiita kedo, shitsumon ga arimasu. Naze kono jii-san to hanashiteimasuka? Nani ka okottaka?)

At that question, the silver-haired man looked a little sheepish. Scratching the back of his neck, he replied, "いや…何もしなかった…ちょっとひっくり返しちゃった…だけ。" (Iya…nani mo shinakatta…chotto hikkuri kaeshichatta…dake.)

The boy in glasses, looking positively scandalized, practically shouted, "ちょっとひっくり返しちゃっただけってどうゆう意味？この人に謝ってください、ひっくり返しちゃったら、銀さん！" (Chotto hikkuri kaeshichatta dakette douyuu imi? Kono hito ni ayamatte kudasai, hikkuri kaeshichattara, Gin-san!)

The Silver-haired man, looking very annoyed now, was about to say something else in that strange language that Raoul didn't understand. But before he could, Raoul, feeling annoyed and confused at not being in the conversation that was probably about him interrupted by asking, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but might I ask you your name?"

"Oh," the man said jumping guiltily at Raoul's voice, going magically back to French, "Sorry about that. My name's Sakata Gintoki. What's yours?"

Raoul nodded, feeling back in the loop, "My name is Raoul. I am the Vicomte de Chagny. Thank you for helping me up, even though you were the one who caused it in the first place. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

For some reason, the look of slight irritation at Sakata Gintoki on the boy with glasses' face cleared into one of understanding; it made wonder if the rest of them could speak French as well. Lost in thought, Raoul almost missed what Sakata Gintoki said next, "Ah, no, you don't need to do anything for me. As you said it's my fault; if anything I should be finding a way to help you out."

Before Raoul could ask why this man seemed so vehement about rejecting Raoul's generosity, one of his servants came up and said, "Monsieur Chagny, everything is all set, we can head to the auction at any time."

Raoul nodded, and then turned back to the silver-haired man and his companions, "I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, but I have a prior engagement."

Sakata Gintoki nodded in understanding and then rummaged around in some unseen pocket. After a minute, he pulled out what looked to be a business card and said, "Here, take my card. I do odd jobs, if there's anything you need me to do for you, have one of your people find me. Whatever you need done for you, I'll do for free…As my way of apologizing for knocking you over."

Raoul nodded, but before he could say anything else, the servant said again, "Monsieur, it's time to go."

With a curt nod to the servant and a final thank you to Sakata Gintoki, Raoul allowed himself to be steered back to his car. On the way back, he heard the girl's voice ask, "銀ちゃん、私のかえるの足はどこあるアル？" (Gin-chan, Watashi no keru ashi wa doko aru aru?)

Raoul then heard the man sigh and reply, "すまねなぁ神楽ちゃん、落としちゃった。もう一つ買おうよ。" (Sumanenaa Kagura-chan, otoshichatta. Mou hitotsu kaou yo.)

Raoul heard the girl take a breath to say something else, but by then he was too far away to hear what it was. As Raoul was lifted back into his car, he thought about how she would have been amused at the encounter he'd just had. Just then, the car jerked back into motion.

* * *

As his car neared the auction, Raoul thoughts moved away from what happened earlier with the strange trio and more onto the upcoming auction. He wondered if today would be the day he finally find some clue that the Phantom was either still alive or something that Christine described to him. It made him burn with anger, even now, after all these years, that that madman had had the gall to do the things he did.

And yet, Raoul also held a strange sense of fascination for the man in the mask. There was a side of Christine that only that man would know, it seemed to know. When her father had died, she had been whisked away to a place he couldn't reach for a long time. Only that man, that deformed monster, had been there for her through those years.

But, now was not the time to dwell on the past, he saw what he came here for; a music box shaped like a monkey playing cymbals. The slightly creepy-looking thing was exactly how Christine had described it to him. How he longed to tell her about his find. Raoul then resolved that he would buy it for her and present it to her at her grave. It wasn't much of a gift, but hopefully it would make Christine happy up in heaven,

The only thing that could have put a hitch in her plans was Madame Giry. She too was vying to buy the monkey music-box; Raoul imagined she wanted it as a memento of the young boy she saved long ago. Raoul would probably never understand what that woman saw in the madman. But then again, Raoul hadn't known the Opera-Ghost as long as the Madame had, so he wasn't really in any position to judge.

After some back and forth bidding between them, Raoul eventually got his music-box. Madame Giry didn't look too sad about not getting the slightly creepy-looking thing, though, as she came over to talk to Raoul. The two greeted each other and began talking to each other about life in general. It had been a long time since they had seen each other after all.

After the auction was over, Raoul said his goodbyes to Madame Giry and went back to his car. As he watched the old woman get smaller and smaller as they drove away from the old Opera house, Raoul couldn't help but remember all over again that time long ago.

Sooner than he wanted the car jerked to another stop, and he saw that they had arrived at the graveyard. Sighing, Raoul waited to be wheeled out of his car, fingering the music box that his dear Christine seemed to have been so fond of.

As Raoul set the music box down on her grave, he noticed something that made his heart rate speed up and his breath quicken. Lying on Christine's grave quite innocently was a rose with a black ribbon tied around it.

Raoul knew at once who it was from. He was amazed that the man he'd found himself thinking about so much recently was still alive. Raoul was also angered that that mad phantom had the nerve to actually visit his wife's grave after all he had put her through.

After a minute, a servant came over to him and asked gently, "Monsieur is anything the matter."

Raoul, realizing that he was probably behaving quite strangely, took a shuddering breath to calm himself down. Once he wasn't afraid that his voice would come out a shaky mess he handed the servant the card he'd gotten earlier today and said, "Here, find the people who gave me this card, there's something I want them to do for me."

**And that ends the first chapter. Originally, this story was going to be a oneshot. But then, as I started writing it, it got to be too long for my idea of a oneshot, so it's going to either have one or two more chapters after this one. Also, I think I want to rewatch the movie and rewrite the second half, or third of this story. **

**Here's a translation of the Japanese conversation (it might not be all that good…):**

"**Gin-san, where did you go?"**

"**Don't worry Pattsuan, I didn't go anywhere. If you come back to that place from before, you'll see me talking to an old man."**

"**Gin-chan, what are you doing here, uh-huh?"**

"**Weren't you listening? I'm talking to this old guy."**

"**We heard you Gin-san, but I have a question? Why are you talking to this old man? Did something happen?"**

"**No…nothing happened…I only…knocked him over a little."**

"**What do you mean 'you only knocked him over a little'? If you knocked him over, you need to apologize Gin-san!"**

"**Gin-chan, where are my frog's legs, uh-huh?"**

"**Sorry Kagura-chan, I dropped them. Let's go buy you another one."**

**Well, that's it for now. See you next update.**

**-Murayama Tsuru**


	2. The Search

**Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. Here's the second chapter of this strange crossover. Sorry the second chapter's a little late, but I didn't get the chance to watch the movie again until Monday. So, anyway, here's the second chapter, hope you guys enjoy.**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or Phantom of the Opera; they belong to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei and Gaston Leroux…or Andrew Lloyd Webber depending of which version you're thinking of ^_^**_

The Yorozuya trio gawked in wonderment at the mansion they were being led to. The large house was nothing like the houses in Edo; the large mansion seemed much more ornate than anything they had seen in Kabukicho (except, maybe, for the Shogun's castle).

Gin honestly hadn't been expecting anything from the old man he'd somehow managed to knock over earlier today. The only thing that had been on his mind at the time was why in the world Kagura had wanted to come here. Sure, Gengai-jiji had told them he could send them anywhere, but that didn't mean Kagura could usurp the decision and ask to be sent to France.

Besides, Gengai-jiji wasn't very good at stuff like this, most of his inventions were something related to soy sauce for some reason. Gin hadn't been instilled with much confidence that they would arrive in France safely and without being drenched in soy sauce. So, he was amazed enough to forget that he didn't really want to be here when all three made it whole and free of injury.

So, maybe the food was good here, but Gin had wanted the chance to discuss the other options as well. Oh well, wasn't much use dwelling on anymore; there would always be other chances to bribe Gingai-jiji into taking them somewhere else…if they came upon any money that is.

As the three were being ushered down a long hall, Gin heard Kagura and Shinpachi whispering about how they were probably in trouble for whatever Gin had done earlier. Gin was aghast that they would even think that he'd done something wrong…well, maybe he had…but that's why he was planning on doing this job for free after all.

Eventually, the three were led into a room with a fireplace. The old man who had called them there (Gin couldn't quite remember his name) was sitting close to the fire looking very tired. For some reason, there was a rose on his lap; Gin found that very strange.

Noticing that Gin was staring at his lap, the man cleared his throat and said, "I've called you here to take you up on what you offered me earlier."

Gin nodded, thinking that that the man was stating the obvious, but he decided not to say anything, not really wanting to let go of the first customer they'd had in a while. The man then picked up the rose and said, "I would like you to find the man who put this rose at my wife's grave. I've been looking for this man for a long time."

Gin, unable to keep the sarcastic response back this time, said somewhat sardonically, "No offense or anything, but finding a guy based off of a flower he left at your wife's grave seems a little impossible."

The man blinked at Gin, looking utterly confused by what he'd said and Gin realized that he'd forgotten to turn the translator back to talking and hearing mode. Chuckling sheepishly, Gin flicked the switch on his translator and gave a toned-down version of what he'd just said in Japanese, "It's no problem looking for someone…but it might be a little hard if we only have a rose to go on…"

The old man nodded in agreement, looking like he wanted to ask about what Gin had said earlier, but keeping his curiosity in check, "That's very true. The man I'm looking for is probably around my age now, and I believe he's still wearing a mask. But if he's not wearing a mask, then you'll know him by his deformed face, it's very recognizable."

Gin's eyebrow shot up, and he began to feel the usual litany of reasons not to take this job running through his head. But, still feeling that he owed the old man for knocking him over, sighed silently and asked a question instead, "How exactly do you know this man?"

The old man's face took on a pained quality for a moment. But before Gin could ask what was wrong, the old man began speaking. He told the Yorozuya Trio a tale of love, stalkers, operas and crashing chandeliers. Gin and Shinpachi noticed that as the old man spoke on, Kagura looked like she was about to fall asleep.

Gin, nudging Shinpachi inconspicuously, glanced over in Kagura's direction, directing the glasses clad boy to make sure Kagura didn't fall asleep completely. Shinpachi gave Gin a returning look that seemed to say, 'Gin-san, why can't you do it? Kagura's scary when woken up.'

Gin raised an eyebrow in response, whispering in Japanese so the old man would understand if he heard him, "No, you do it. She'll get less mad at you. Worst that could happen to you is your glasses get knocked off."

Shinpachi squinted at Gin in annoyance, but decided not to say anything in response. The glasses clad boy then turned to Kagura and started shaking her gently in order to keep her from falling asleep…it worked a little too well. Kagura's eyes snapped open and she turned to glare angrily at Shinpachi. But before anything could happen to the poor, hapless Shinpachi, the old man finished his story so the other two Yorozuya members started paying attention again.

The old man, seeing that everyone was looking at him expectantly, said, "So, as I said before, I'd like you to locate the Phantom for me. He'd probably less dangerous after all these years, but I suggest you approach him with extreme caution."

Gin pursed his lips and started skeptically, "So, let me get this straight…you want us to look for a deformed, mad opera singer who stalked your wife for much of her life. And, this man that you want us to look for, is very good at strangling people…"

"Yes," Raoul nodded again, "that about sums it up. But as I said before, he's probably much less dangerous now than he was before. Besides, I'm sure you can defend yourself with that sword of yours."

Gin blinked and looked toward Shinpachi and Kagura, who looked a mix of slightly worried (Shinpachi) and excited at the prospect of meeting a phantom (Kagura). Gin then turned back to the old man and said, "Sure, why not? I've always liked psychopathic old guys; they show me what my future is probably going to be like…"

Raoul's brow furrowed in slight consternation and he said, "If you're hesitating, I can always send some bodyguards with you."

Gin shook his head, "No, that's really not necessary. One of our members is practically a bodyguard in her own right. We'll be fine."

Raoul nodded and then said, "Well now, is this amount enough payment for your services."

The old man held out a check and Gin's eyes widened at the amount, it'd been a long time since he'd seen so many zeros (ever since that fiasco with the Mashiroi gang in volume 21 and 22). The silver-haired Samurai thought about saying no to any payment, because he still felt he owed the man for knocking him over earlier, but his greedy side won the short internal argument and he said with a smile, "Thank you, this is plenty."

* * *

Gin was coming to regret taking this guy's job just slightly now. Once the three had finished talking to the old man, they were escorted to a dilapidated opera house. In confusion, Gin had asked what they were doing here and the only answer he was met with was, 'this is where you will start your search for the Phantom.'

From the look of the place, Gin seriously doubted that anyone would still be living here after all these years. But when Kagura found a secret passage under the dilapidated stage, Gin began to change his mind about this phantom person; maybe since he was a ghost of sorts, he liked haunting dilapidated buildings.

But at about the fifth spiral on the extremely long staircase, Gin was beginning to lose hope that anyone was here at all. And then they fell through the trap door. Of course it was Shinpachi who activated it. When he fell through, both Gin and Kagura walked over to the place when he had fallen and started laughing uproariously, to the glasses-clad boy's chagrin.

Then, once Gin called and asked if they should come down as well, Kagura not waiting for any kind of answer, pushed Gin down the hole and jumped in once she heard her sort-of boss splash into the water. Gin, glaring at the red-headed Yato, started as he heard something start to descend from the ceiling.

Panicking slightly seeing the steel cage-like thing dropping down on them, Gin shouted, "Kagura, go see if there's a way to stop that thing!"

Kagura, looking defiant, said petulantly, "Why should I, Gin-chan? You can't order me around, uh-huh, I'm a free woman!"

Gin rolled his eyes, but it was Shinpachi who said, "Please do it for us, Kagura-chan. We'll give you all the Sukonbu you want later."

Kagura, her face lighting up at the prospect of getting Sukonbu, nodded once enthusiastically and then dove under water. The red-haired Yato seemed to be staying under water for a long time, and Gin and Shinpachi were starting to get worried. But just as the cage-like thing threatened to drown them all, there was a loud creaking sound and the cage began ascending again.

Noticing that there was a large hole in the wall, the three climbed through it and started walking slowly through the tunnel. At first, the space was altogether too small for Gin's taste, and he was beginning to dislike this Phantom as much as that old man Raoul seemed to.

Eventually, though, the hole began to widen and Gin was soon able to walk upright again. Soon, the tunnel opened up into a long, maze-like hallway. Gin sighed, long-sufferingly, this job was starting to seem less and less worth what that rich old viscount was paying him. But, he was already too far in to go back, so they might as well keep going forward.

After some wandering around, the trio finally made it to a large room with many broken mirrors. Looking to be a dead end, Gin sighed again, and turned to Shinpachi, saying, "Well this seems to have been a waste of time. Shall we head back?"

Before Shinpachi could answer, Kagura began sniffing the air like a dog and then, after a minute, said, "Wait, I sense fresh air, I think there's another tunnel somewhere around here."

Gin, blinking back his confusion at why Kagura suddenly had dog-like senses, nodded absent-mindedly and three began looking around the world. Looking around, not really expecting to find anything, Gin noticed what looked to be a candle holder lying on the ground, near a velvet curtain.

Gin could tell it had been a long time since anyone had touched any of the things in this room, but he decided to go over and investigate anyway. At first he thought the only things in the room were the broken mirrors and discarded candle holder, but then he thought he felt a slight breeze coming from behind the curtain.

Motioning for Shinpachi and Kagura to come over to where the curtain was, Gin lifted it and saw that there was yet another tunnel leading into inky darkness. The two came over, and Shinpachi looked skeptical that this new tunnel would lead anywhere good, while Kagura looked quite curious to see where this long, dark pathway would lead.

Nodding to the other two Yorozuya members, Gin led the way through the broken mirror. After a while of wandering almost blind in the darkness (except for Kagura's newfound doglike abilities), all three thought they heard someone crying a ways away.

Following the sound, the three were led to a place that was both cold yet seemed to be filled with an almost unseen beauty. None of the three could quite label what it was about this place that was so beautiful, but that's what all three thought.

The three heard another choked sob, and three pairs of eyes landed on a man sitting in the middle of the floor. The person seemed more of a raven than a man though; he was wearing all black, in what seemed to mourning of some sort. Adorning his face, completing the man's raven-like look, was an ink black mask. This alerted that this was the phantom that they had been searching all day for.

Before any of the Yorozuya could begin speaking, the man took out a hand-drawn portrait of a young woman with long, curly hair. The man then began speaking softly, and for some reason Gin was reminded of himself when Shouyou-Sensei died.

Listening closely to what the Phantom was saying, Gin realized that the man was actually singing. The words were of both love and mourning, "Say you'll share with me one love one life time. Lead me save me from my solitude. Say you'll want with me with you here beside you. Anywhere you go I will go too, Christine that's all I ask of…" the man paused for a second, as if lost in a memory of a time when he'd been stopped from singing the last note, "…you."

And then, Gin saw the dull silver gleam of a knife slide from somewhere beneath the cloak the man was wearing. Gin watched as the knife made its way, in seeming slow motion, toward his neck and before Gin could even think about what he was doing, he tackled the man, forcing him to drop his knife, making it clatter loudly to the floor.

**And that ends this chapter. I've decided to make this story three chapters instead of 2. Why you ask? Because I felt like it ^_^…Yeah…that's all I have to say at the moment…um, as always if you'd like please leave a review, I love to know what you guys think. See you next time then, guys.**

**-Murayama Tsuru**


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